JERUSALEM — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday met Israeli leaders on a rare trip to the Jewish state for discussions that focused on continuing violence in Syria and Iran’s disputed nuclear program.
In statements to the press after their meeting, Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised ties between their two countries, and pledged cooperation on a range of domestic and international issues.
Their talks touched on the situation in Syria, where a bloody uprising has divided the international community, pitting the West against Moscow, which has refused to support sanctions against its Soviet-era ally.
“From the very beginning of the so-called Arab Spring, Russia has been persuading its partners that democratic changes should take place in a civilized manner and without external intervention,” Putin said.
Russia is pushing for an international Syria conference and has already discussed the plan with Jordan as well as the European Union, Iran and Iraq.
It has shown little enthusiasm for regime change, despite multiple international calls for President Bashar al Assad to step down.
Putin said he had also discussed Iran’s nuclear program with Netanyahu, but gave no details about the talks.
Israel and much of the international community believes Iran’s nuclear program masks a weapons drive, and the United States has led a push for tough sanctions against Tehran.
Israel, which is widely believed to have the Middle East’s sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, has said Iran’s program poses a threat and has warned it reserves the right to use all means necessary to respond, including military.
Speaking alongside Putin on Monday, Netanyahu again warned that Iranian nuclear weapons would pose “a severe danger, first and foremost to Israel, but also to the region and entire world.”
He repeated Israel’s longstanding demands for Iran to cease nuclear uranium enrichment, remove enriched uranium from Iranian soil and dismantle the underground facility near Qom.